Automatic feed for button-machines.



E. MORGAN 82; J. BIRD. AUTOMATIC FEED FOR BUTTON MACHINES.

APPLICATION rum) DEC. 8, 1909.

1,005,277. Patented Oct. 10,1911.

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E. MORGAN & J. BIRD. AUTOMATIC FEED FOR BUTTON MAGHINB3. APPLICATION FILED 1730.8, 1909.

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' lwitmwwo Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

E. MORGAN dz J. BIRD. AUTOMATIC FEED FOR BUTTON MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED 11110. 8, 1909.

1,005,277. Patented 00111111911.

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urposes.

EDWARD MORGAN AND JOHN BIRD, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIC FEED FOR BUTTON-MAOHINES.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1911.

Application filed December 8, 1909. Serial No. 531,942.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD MORGAN and JOHN BIRD, citizens of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Feed for Button-Machines; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved means for feeding buttons to a button-drilling machine, the feeding attachment being mounted directly on the button-drilling machine and being operated in conjunction therewith so that a steady and positive supply of buttons is assured.

An improved feature of the invention is the device insuring the feeding of the buttons with their rounded faces all facing in one direction, and the mechanism is also adapted to be installed on any button-drilling machine.

The invention also provides a step-by-step arrangement for the buttons, whereby a finished button is released from the chuck in which it is held and is allowed to drop down immediately after it is drilled, and a new button-blank is in place, ready to be drilled when the drills advance for drilling This is possible by reason of the attachment of the feeding device to the button-drilling machine and of being operated in conjunction therewith.

A. further object of the invention is to provide a chute for conducting buttonblanks from a reservoir to the chuck which holds the blanks in line with the drills, and placing stops in the chute, which stops are some of them normally in the path of the buttons and some normally removed from the slot or channel of the chute, these stops being adapted to arrest the blanks in their progress. Mechanism is provided whereby the normal relation of the stops to the chute is reversed and a single button is fed from one stop to the next, and there is no chance of a set of buttons lining up in the chute and riding up on each other to clog the chute.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of part of a button drilling machine and the feeding attachment. Fig. 2 is an enlarged section on line 2, 2, in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an end view of the lower portion of the feeding attachment. Fig. 4 is a section on line 1, a, in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is a face View of the end of the chuck. Fig. 6 is a section on line 6, 6, in Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is a section on line 7, 7, in Fig. 1. .Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section on line 8, S, in Fig. 6, and Fig. 9 is a section of part of the bottom of the reservoir and illustrating a groove therein.

The device is used on the usual form of button-drilling machine, the machine comprising a bed-plate 10, and as at present constructed, these machines embody the drills 11 which are worked by the mechanism usual in this class of machine and not described in this application, the drills 11 being adapted to place the holes in the buttons for the thread to pass through when the buttons are attached to clothlng, and moving to engage the button-blank and drill the holes and then retreat, all this being automatically done and being well known in the art of button-machinery.

On the bed-plate 10 and to one side thereof we secure a support, as a plate, 12, which has a bearing 13 thereon in which rotates an upright shaft 1 1, the lower end of which is mounted in a bearing 15. Bevel-gears 16 and 17 cause the rotation of the shaft 1a from the shaft 18 of the machine, which latter shaft is in turn driven by the wormgear 19 from the worm 20 on the shaft 21, which latter shaft is present in all machines of this class as now used. A gear 22 meshes with a gear 23 on a shaft 24:, which shaft is mounted in a perforated car 25 in the supporting plate 12, and a set of gears 26 and 27 rotate a shaft 28 which passes up through the center of a reservoir 29, which reservoir has a tilted bottom secured on a flange 30 of the supporting plate 12. The shaft 28 has a set of arms 31 thereon, these arms having short stiff flaps 32 on part of them, the others having longer sweeping flaps 33, these flaps serving to deposit the buttonblanks 3 1 in a slot 35 in the bot-tom of the I bell crank 55 which downward in the slot reservoir 29. A gate 36, sliding in ways 37 and adjusted by means of a screw 38, is set so that a button-blank can just pass underneath it and in this way the button-blanks are prevented from issuing in any way except one at a time. The adjustment of the gate is provided to regulate the opening in relation to the size of the blanks being drilled. The button-blanks are provided with one face that is convex or rounded, and if the button is seated wit-h this convex face 35-, it is not in proper position and is swept from the slot by the flaps above described, but if the buttonblank is seated correctly, that is, with its convex side upward, the'fl'aps sweep over this smooth, rounded surface and the button remains undisturbed in the slot.

A plate 39 rests on the flange 30 of the support 12 and parallel guide strips 40, on the plate 39, serve to make up a chute that is inclined downwardly and through which the button-blanks are adapted to pass by gravity. The strips 40 are not brought together and leave a slot 41 between them. A finger 42 of a slide-plate 43 is arranged to pass across the outlet of the reservoir, the slide-plate being provided with a shoulder 44 to bear against one of the strips 45 to limit its outward movement. An arm 46 projects from the back of the slide-plate 43 and the slide-plate is forced when a spring 47 has its resistance overcome by an arm 48 which projects from a rod 49 slidably ar ranged transversely in the support 12 and reciprocated by a lever 50 fulcrumed intermediate of its ends to a bracket 51, which lever is rocked by a cam 52 on the shaft 14, this cam engaging a roller 53 on the end of the lever 50, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The arm 48 also slides on a rod 54 secured to a is pivoted on a standard 56, the arm having a slight motion before it strikes, the collar 57 so that when the bell crank is worked to lift theblock 58 out of the slot 41, the finger 42 has engaged the blank about to emerge from the reservoir and the blank previously held by the block 58 (there being room for only one blank between the finger 42 and the block 58) is permitted to slide on down the chute 40. The block 58 has an overhang 59 (Fig. 8) which holds the blank under it against being forced out of the chute or being raised to permit the next blank to creep under it and thus get jammed. The spring 60 on the back of the arm 48 rests agamst the nut 61 and carries the rod 54 back into place 011 the return of the parts to normal position, the block then receiving the button previously held by the finger 42 of the slide-plate 43.

Therod 49, onits projecting or free end, has a block 62 from which a pin 63 depends. The pin 63 passes between the operating or handle ends of two levers, whichlevers swing on the shaft 64. One lever 65, against which the pin 63 pushes when operated, has its other end formed into a nose 66 which is adapted to co-act with a chuck to be hereinafter described. A spring 67 connects the lever with the lever 68, the other end of which forms a stop 69 adapted to enter the slot 41 in the path of a blank in the chute when it is operated. These levers 65 and 68 work in unison, and it will be seen that a releasing of a buttonblank by the block 58 causes a catching of the same blank by the stop 69. When the stop 69 enters the chute and engages a blank the nose 66 leaves its normal position and allows a blank that has been drilled to drop. The nose 66 engages a blank to hold it in position while it is clamped against the portion 70 of the plate 39.

,VVhen the nose 66 enters the slot or is in its normal position (Fig. 4) the chuck 73 presses the blank stopped by the nose 66 and seats it. The chuck has a concave portion 72 to receive a blank and has a slotted part 71 to receive the nose 66. The chuck 73 is secured to a sliding plate 74 which is operated in one direction by a link 75 and lever 76 and the cam 77, being returned by a spring 78. It will be noticed that when a drilled button is dropped by the chuck 73 and the nose 66 of the lever 65, the stop 69 arrests the next blank and the release of this arrested blank permits it, the blank, to rest on the nose 66 and then the chuck 73 seats the blank and the drilling begins.

The operation of this button feeding attachment is as follows: The button-blanks are arranged in the slot in the reservoir as above described, and pass out in succession, the leading button-blank being caught under the overhang 59 of the block 58, this block being normally in the chute that leads from the reservoir to the chuck which is situated at the bottom thereof. When the cam 52 swings the lever 50, the rod 49 is slid and with it the arm 48. This movement of the arm 48 slides the finger 42 in between the button that is underneath the overhang of the block 58 and the outlet of the reservoir so that the button-blank is the only one released from the chute when the collar 57 on the rod 54 is engaged by the arm 48, and the bell crank 55 raises the block 58 which permits the button-blank that is outside the reservoir to descend by gravity down the chute to be engaged by the stop 69 which is forced in the slot 41 of the chute 40, at the same time that the foregoing operation is taking place, by reason of the block, with its pin 63 which is on the end of the rod 49, swinging the lever 65 on which the stop 69 is located. When the rod 49 is permitted to return to its normal position, by the cam 52 working through the lever 50, the block 58 is again seated in the chute, the finger 42 is withdrawn, and another buttonblank is allowed to emerge from the reservoir and take its position underneath the overhang 59. This withdrawal of the parts'also withdraws the stop 69 from the slot 41, and the button-blank, held by the stop 69, is permitted to fall and rest on the nose 66 which is now in place underneath the chuck 73, and as soon as the button-blank is in posi tion in line with the chuck, the chuck slides with its plate 74, being propelled by the spring 78, and the button-blank is locked in position ready for drilling. It will thus be seen that while one button-blank is in the chuck Y3 another button-blank is under the overhang 59, and when the button-blank in the chuck is released by the withdrawal of the nose 66, the following button-blank is passing out from under the raised block 58 and being engaged by the stop 69. In this way there is but one button in the chute at a time.

It will be noted that the placing of buttons in the reservoir slot is constant, and that no buttons in excess of one are between any two of the stops in the chute. The stops simultaneously reverse positions in relation to the chute, and their return to normal positions is substantially simultaneous.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is 1. The combination of a button-drilling machine, with a feeding attachment for button-blanks comprising a reservoir, a chute leading therefrom, a sliding finger adapted to be operated transversely to close-the chute at the reservoir, a block to normally close the chute adjacent to the finger, a chuck atthe bottom of the chute, a stop near the lower end of the chute, co-acting means for removing the chuck and the block from the chute and simultaneously placing the finger and the stop in the chute, and means for returning them to their normal positions.

2. The combination of a button-drilling machine, with a feeding attachment for blanks comprising a reservoir having an outlet, a chute leading from the outlet, a movable chuck normally in the bottom of the chute, a stop near the bottom of the chute, a block in the chute near the reservoir, a sliding finger at the outlet of the reservoir, means for forcing the finger across the outlet of the reservoir to stop it and for placing the stop in the chute, and means for removing the block and the chuck from the chute when the aforesaid action takes place.

8. The combination of a button-drilling machine, with a feeding attachment comprising a support, a reservoir thereon, a chute leading from the reservoir, a chuck normally in the bottom of the chute and cooperating therewith to hold a button, means for moving the chuck from the chute to permit a button to drop by gravity from the chuck, means for controlling the passage of a single blank from the reservoir to the chuck, and means for closing the outlet of the reservoir while the blank in the chute is passing to the chuck.

4. The combination of a button-drilling machine, with a feeding attachment comprising a support, a reservoir having an inclined bottom on the support, a chute leading from the reservoir, a chuck adapted to be moved in and out of register with the bottom of the chute and having a recess to hold a button when in the chute, means for moving the chuck, a stop near the bottom of the chute, a block adapted to normally lie in the chute near the reservoir, a finger adapted to slide to close the outlet of the reservoir, but normally leaving the outlet open, and means for simultaneously sliding the finger to close the outlet of the reservoir, placing the stop in the chute and removing the block from the chute.

5. The combination of a button-drilling machine, with a feeding attachment comprising a support, a reservoir on the support, the reservoir having an inclined bottom, a chute on the support and leading from the reservoir, a chuck at the bottom of the chute and adapted to be removed from the chute, means for moving the chuck, a nose to enter the chute to support a button, the chuck having a recess to receive the button so supported and hold the same in position, a stop at the lower end of the chute and above the chuck, means for simultaneously removing the nose from the chute and placing the stop in the chute, a block in the chute and so disposed that it leaves room for but one blank between the end of the block and the outlet of the reservoir, a finger to pass along the outlet of the reservoir to close the same, and means for moving the finger to block the chute and to lift the block from the chute when the chuck and nose are removed.

6. The combination of a button-drilling machine, with a feeding attachment comprising a support, a cylindrical reservoir thereon, a chute leading from the reservoir, a chuck at the bottom of the chute having a recess to receive a button-blank, said chuck having a sliding movement transversely in its relation to the chute whereby the chuck can be placed in and out of register with the chute, a pair of levers mounted on the support, a stop on the end of one lever, a finger on the end of the second lever, the levers being pivot-ed intermediate of their ends, a spring connecting the levers, a pin projecting between the levers, a transverse rod on which the pin is supported, means for reciprocating the rod, a block in the chute, a finger adapted to be passed across the outlet of the reservoir to block the same, and means for removing the block from the chute and moving the finger across the outlet of the reservoir when the levers are operated.

7 The combination of a button-drilling machine, with a feeding attachment comprising a reservoir with a tilted bottom, an inclined chute, the reservoir having a slot in line with the chute and down which slot and chute button-blanks are adapted to be dropped by gravity, a block so constructed and disposed as to be placed in and out of the chute, the block having an overhang extending toward the reservoir, the block being arranged at a distance from the reservoir to permit a single button-blank to emerge from the reservoir, a finger sliding across the chute at the outlet of the reservoir, means for operating the block and the finger so that the finger closes the outlet of the reservoir immediately before the block permit the button-blank under proceed down the chute, a chuck is raised to the block to movable toward and from the chute and adapted to be placed in and out of register with the bottom of the chute, a nose entering the chute from the side opposite the chuck and adapted to support a buttonblank in position :to be clamped by said chuck, a stop adapted to pass in and out of the chute above the chuck, and means operated from the block and finger operating mechanism for removing the nose and the chuck from the chute and at the same time placingthe stop in the chute.

8. The combination of a button drilling I machine, with a feeding attachment com prising a reservoir with a tilted bottom, an inclined chute,

the reservoir having a slot in line with the chute and down which slot and chute button-blanks are adapted to be dropped by gravity, a block so constructed and disposed as to be placed in and out of the chute, the block having an overhang extending toward the reservoir, the block being arranged at a distance from the reservoir to permit a single button-blank to emerge from the reservoir, a finger sliding across the chute at the outlet of the reservoir, means for operating the block and the finger so that the finger closes the outlet of the reservoir immediately before the block is raised to permit the button-blank under the block to proceed down the chute, a chuck, a sliding plate to which the chuck is attached, mechanism for sliding the plate when the finger and the block are operated, a lever having a nose thereon, the nose being adapted to enter the chute opposite the chuck, a second lever having a stop thereon to enter the chute from the same side of the chuck and above the same, a pin between the levers, a spring connecting the levers, and mechanism for operating the pin from the block and finger operating means whereby the nose is withdrawn from and the stop is placed in the chute when the block and the chuck are withdrawn from the chute.

In testimony, that we claim the foregoing, we have hereunto set our hands this 7th day of December, 1909.

EDWVARD MORGAN. JOHN BIRD.

Witnesses:

E. A. PELL, M. A. JoHNsoN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,

Washington, I). G

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